With the parable of the wise and foolish virgins we find ourselves, as in the previous one, in the time after Israel’s great tribulation and before the dawn of the aeon to come. It is the period of judgments on the nations, which is also called the day of wrath (Rev.6:17). The Lord is King of Israel, but the Kingdom has not yet been established worldwide and the mystery of God has not yet been completed (Rev.10:7).
Matthew 25
1 Then the kingdom of heaven will be compared to ten virgins…
virgins
In the Tanakh there are several words that are translated as virgin. The Hebrew bthuwlah (H1330), is translated as virgin, but also as girl. Another word, almah (H5959) is sometimes translated as virgin, but more often as (young) girl or damsel (young woman). This is how an unmarried woman is referred to (Gen.24:43). And we also find the word amah (H519), which is usually translated as handmaid, maid.
subordinated
A virgin is a subordinate woman. A woman who is not yet connected to a man and submits herself to her Lord. She is subservient. The term virgin is also applied to men, among the 144,000. They have been selected by the Lord for a task and dedicated to it.
Revelation 14
3 (…) and none could learn the song but the hundred and forty-four thousand who were bought from the earth.
4 These are they who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins…
In the foregoing in Matthew 24:45-51 it was about two servants or slaves. They also serve the Lord. One slave endures to the end, but the other slave does not. The ten virgins in Matthew 25 kept themselves pure and blameless before their Lord. Five endure to the end, but the other five do not endure to the end (Matt.24:13).
Israelites?
Are the ten virgins, like the 144,000 male virgins, a representation of believers from Israel, those who are among the nations? They are among the nations and will go up into the land because they are called to do so by the 144,000 (Matt.24:31). Part of Israel is already with its Lord, in the wilderness of Bozrah.
Three times in the Gospels we find that the Lord calls the twelve disciples sons of the bridal chamber (Matt. 9:15; Mark 2:19; Luke 5:34), usually translated as wedding children. Apparently in this context both the sons and the daughters (>virgins) are a representation of Israel.
from the nations?
Or are the ten virgins a representation of believers from the nations? In Matthew 22 the Lord tells the parable of the royal wedding. This parable tells us that the wedding is ready, but the original invitees do not respond to the invitation (22:8). The wedding, as here in Matthew 25, is a representation of the Messianic kingdom and the first invited guests are a type of the Jewish people. They rejected the Messiah.
others
The King then tells His slaves to go out and call others to the wedding as many as they find (22:10). The wedding hall is filled with these guests (22:11). There will be many called among those present, but few chosen. Very few of the chosen people of Israel will ultimately enter the Messianic kingdom.
Earlier we saw something similar in the story of Jesus healing the centurion’s servant. Many of the people to whom the Kingdom was originally promised will not enter. But many others from the nations do.
Matthew 8
11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall dwell with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven,
12 But the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
sons of the Kingdom
The sons of the Kingdom are the natural heirs of the promise. Israel was promised the Kingdom, but many will not share in the Kingdom. But many from the nations will come from all directions and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom (compare Luke 13:28-29).
to elect?
For the meaning, it appears difficult to choose what the ten virgins are an image of. And perhaps this is not necessary at all. The number ten represents the words of God. Think of the ten words (>commandments) in Exodus 20 and the ten words of creation in Genesis 1. God spoke ten times. Here we find ten virgins who obey the word of God: the gospel of the Kingdom, which would be proclaimed for a testimony to all nations (Matt. 24:14).